A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

In the March issue of The Atlantic, Christopher Orr explains why the golden age of boy-meets-girl comedy is over: "Among the most fundamental obligations of romantic comedy is that there must be an obstacle to nuptial bliss for the budding couple to overcome. And, put simply, such obstacles are getting harder and harder to come by."

In this video, Orr looks back at some of the most memorable scenes from classics like The Philadelphia Story and Annie Hall — reminders of a time before Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, when romantic comedies were driven by real tensions and real rewards.

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